Bow U bolt replacement

High winds and rough lake waters here a few days ago caused the U bolt on the bow to pull out while my Capri 14.2 was tied up. Appears to have only been glued into the bow. If there were bolts on the other side of the hull, the holes would have been large. I can't get the storage area off to take a look inside and under the foredeck areab/c it is glued to the hull. Any ideas on best way to replace the bow U bolt? Thank you for your ideas.
Joe Greco

I can't imagine how to access the area! My version 1 has the trailer line attached to the foredeck plate above which is inferior to having it attach to the eye like yours. I wanted to look into ways to install an eye there but it seemed impossible. Try Catalina Tech support 916-843-1971 Tues/Fri 10-5 Pacific. They are real helpful. By the way, have you been out in rough water with your boat, just curious how it behaves.

I can't imagine how to access the area! My version 1 has the trailer line attached to the foredeck plate above which is inferior to having it attach to the eye like yours. I wanted to look into ways to install an eye there but it seemed impossible. Try Catalina Tech support 916-843-1971 Tues/Fri 10-5 Pacific. They are real helpful. By the way, have you been out in rough water with your boat, just curious how it behaves.

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Thanks for the phone number.
I am going to put an inspection port somewhere on the deck so I can reach the bolts on the inside. Rough weather...first time out it was too windy and I did not have it set up to reef. Unpleasant. Too much weather helm, luffing the main- a noisy sail. Since then, I have sailed about 50% of the time with a reef. My Hobie 16 was more fun to sail. I have put a lot of work into making it a more civil boat; will see how that pans out.

Yep agreed it can be a bit dicey in the heavy wind. Next year when I have a few bucks I will have a weld / fab shop construct a custom steel keel, built to the maximum weight that the setup will handle. I bet that will help a lot. Would have loved to have found a fixed keel version but unless you are leaving the boat in the water it would be too much effort for a singlehander to deal with. I will be doing a lot of solo trailering, also like the ability to pull it up on the beach. And on the plus side it is a good light air boat, also goes quite fast when properly handled. I'll let you know how it goes after a few sails.